Indian Rebellion of 1857

The First Indian War of Independence, also called the Rebellion of 1857 or Sepoy Mutiny was a failed uprising by Indians against British rule. Beginning as a mutiny among sepoy (Indian troops) in May 1857, the conflict spread and became a widespread insurrection against British rule. Although the situation was largely restored by September 1857, some regions remained rebel control for much of 1858.

Background
There was once a prophecy that said that after 100 years of British rule over India, the British would leave forever. The year 1857, 100 years since the Battle of Plassey, was considered to be the year that the Indians would overthrow the British East India Company. The Company, which had fought Indians most recently in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, was cruel to the Indians, treating them with little respect. Rioters started to protest against British rule, causing sepoys to mutiny. The British punished those who would defy their rule, whether peacefully or violently, and Colonel George Edwardson contemptuously treated his sepoys. The rule of the East India Company was violent, like a shadow of death over the land, and the Punjabis attacked their Saltpeter posts in March.

Into the Punjab
Edwardson and his lieutenant Nanib Sahir advanced into the Punjab, determined to reclaim the EIC saltpeter posts, critical for the development of gunpowder. The Punjabi tribes tried to resist with elephants and infantry, but the British musketeers and sepoys shot them dead between the eyes, mowing the Punjabis down. When a messenger alerted Edwardson that his trading posts were under attack, he accompanied Nanib and a company to a nearby village, starting a base there. From there, they marched on the Punjabi trading posts, burning them and replacing them with their own trading posts.

Fires of Calcutta
When news came to the British that fires were reported in Calcutta, Edwardson and his company of sepoys and regulars marched on the city to stop the arsonists. Establishing a base, they enlisted the help of the Ottoman Empire's Tufanci Corps and marched on the Indian barracks. The Ottoman bombards destroyed the barracks, preventing the recruitment of additional arsonists, and the British burnt the Indians out of their bases. When the last of them were rounded up by Nanib, he gave them the chance to leave without their weapons, but Edwardson's men appeared from the woods and massacred them. Nanib, visibly shaken, doubted his loyalties.